Cryptococcus gattii Meningitis in a Previously Healthy Young Woman: A Case Report.

Introduction: Cryptococcus gattii (C. gatti) is a rare cause of meningitis in the United States. Outbreaks in new geographic distributions in the past few decades raise concern that climate change may be contributing to a broader distribution of this pathogen.

Effects of storytelling on the childhood brain: near-infrared spectroscopic comparison with the effects of picture-book reading.

In children, storytelling provides many psychological and educational benefits, such as enhanced imagination to help visualize spoken words, improved vocabulary, and more refined communication skills. However, the brain mechanisms underlying the effects of storytelling on children are not clear. In this study, the effects of storytelling on the brains of children were assessed by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).

Frontal activity measured by near-infrared spectroscopy in patients taking different atypical antipsychotic drugs: A cross-sectional study.

Using near-infrared spectroscopy, we examined changes in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin ([oxy-Hb]) in the frontal lobe during a verbal fluency task in 20 patients with schizophrenia (10 patients each receiving olanzapine [OLZ] and risperidone [RIS]) and 10 healthy controls. We found that [oxy-Hb] levels in the prefrontal region were higher in the patients receiving OLZ than in those receiving RIS. These results suggest that antipsychotic drugs have different effects on cerebral hemodynamic patterns, which may reflect frontal lobe function.

Reduced brain activity in female patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy.

Patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) have impaired health-related quality of life including physical and mental state. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a useful tool for evaluation of brain activity and depressive state. This study aimed to determine the brain activity of female NAFLD patients using NIRS.

Reduced frontal activation during verbal fluency task in chronic hepatitis C patients with interferon-based therapy as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy.

Aim: Psychiatric side-effects are the main reason for discontinuation of interferon (IFN)-based therapy. Recent developments in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) have enabled non-invasive clarification of brain functions in psychiatric disorders. We prospectively evaluated brain activation in 20 chronic hepatitis C patients with or without IFN-based therapy by using NIRS during a verbal fluency task (VFT).

Facial expression perception correlates with verbal working memory function in schizophrenia.

Aims: Facial emotion perception is considered to provide a measure of social cognition. Numerous studies have examined the perception of emotion in patients with schizophrenia, and the majority has reported impaired ability to recognize facial emotion perception. We aimed to investigate the correlation between facial expression recognition and other domains of social cognition and neurocognition in Japanese patients with schizophrenia.

Near-infrared spectroscopy and plasma homovanillic acid levels in bipolar disorder: a case report.

Misdiagnosis of bipolar disorder is a serious, but not unusual problem for patients. Nevertheless, there are few biomarkers for distinguishing unipolar and bipolar disorder. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive and useful method for the measurement of hemoglobin concentration changes in the cortical surface area, which enables the assessment of brain function.

New instrument for measuring multiple domains of social cognition: construct validity of the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (Japanese version).

Aim: The present study aimed to test the construct validity and internal consistency of the Social Cognition Screening Questionnaire (SCSQ) (Japanese version).

Methods: We first tested whether the subscale scores and the total score of the SCSQ could discriminate patients with schizophrenia from normal controls. Next, we tested the internal consistency.

Pituitary apoplexy after leuprolide injection for ovum donation.

Patients with occult pituitary adenomas infrequently present with pituitary apoplexy. Precipitation of pituitary apoplexy by gonadotropin releasing hormone or gonadotropin releasing hormone agonists has been described. The pathophysiologic mechanism by which these agents induce apoplexy remains unclear.